The best way to get early users in a market you have no experience in
Planted January 15, 2025
Conventional start-up wisdom tells us that the best way to get early traction for your product is to launch into a market/industry you already have an understanding of, a network within, an unfair advantage on etc.
This is very good advice.
But sometimes (against our better judgement) we don’t want to build a product inside a market we already know well.
Maybe you’re excited about a problem in a different market, bored to death of the industry you’ve been working in for 10+ years, or think there’s more growth potential in another area.
Whilst it’s harder to land and expand in an unfamiliar market, it’s certainly still possible and it shouldn’t discourage you from trying.
Find the online communities where your ideal customer profile hangs out
Slack groups, LinkedIn groups, Facebook groups, community forums, Reddit etc. Ideally focus on one community to start with — there’s usually always one that is the biggest and most active.
A few things to keep in mind when looking for the community:
- It’s sufficiently active — there are so many graveyard communities that have thousands of members but very little activity.
- It’s well moderated and the moderators don’t allow self-promotion — this is counterintuitive given we want to use this community for self-promotion.
It may be that your ideal customer profile tends to hang out more at in-person events. In all honesty, I think this approach is harder to execute in that situation. Online communities give you far more leverage early on.
Create your profile in the community
Most online communities should give you some kind of bio space for your profile. This is going to be your micro landing page within that community.
All that really matters is that it contains:
- A clear, non-spammy description of who you are (position yourself as someone who solves a particular type of problem).
- A link to your product.
Answer questions, create posts, and add value
Even if it’s a question you don’t immediately know the answer to, research the solution, put together a thoughtful response, and share it.
Consistency is key. Show up every day or every few days. Become a known name.
Over time, people will start to notice the quality of your contributions. They’ll click your profile out of curiosity. That’s where your bio (and your link) does its job.
Never directly promote your product
There’s some nuance to this, and it definitely depends on the culture of the community, but as a general rule: don’t post links to your product publicly or make overt sales pitches.
Even if someone asks a question that your product directly solves, resist the urge to reply with “hey, I built X, check it out!”
Instead, answer the question thoughtfully, educate them, and trust that the curious ones will find your profile link themselves.
If a conversation moves to direct messaging and it feels natural, then — and only then — you can share your product more explicitly.
The key is to preserve trust. If you come across as self-serving, you’ll burn your reputation fast and lose the channel completely.
Learn as you gather leads
The beauty of this approach is that it does more than just get you early users — it gives you incredibly high-quality feedback.
Because you’re embedded in the community and interacting authentically, you’ll naturally start to see:
- Which problems are the most painful
- How your target customers talk about those problems
- What language they use (helpful for marketing later)
- Gaps in your current product
- Opportunities for adjacent features or services
In many ways, the leads you gather are almost a byproduct. You’re building relationships, learning the market from the inside out, and gradually carving out a reputation.
It’s slower than buying ads. It’s more manual than spamming cold emails. But it’s real.